Letter 140b

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Letter 140b
Recipient	P. H. Newby
Date	3 September 1953
Subject(s)	Recording excerpts from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Letter 140b is a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien and published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien: Revised and Expanded edition.

Background

Tolkien had travelled to the BBC two days earlier and read from his translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and this audition been recorded. In preparation for his audition, Tolkien had with Christopher's help conducted three voice experiments on a tape recorder.

Summary

In a letter to P. H. Newby of the BBC, Tolkien expresses gratitude for Newby's hospitality and patience, likening Newby's courteous demeanour to that of the chivalric Gawain. Tolkien empathizes with Newby's sense of burden and reflects on his own daunting year ahead. He appreciates the opportunity to be evaluated, noting the difficulty in satisfying Newby, but praises the quality of the recorded playback, which he found more engaging than most similar broadcasts. He acknowledges areas for improvement, particularly his unpractised reading of the Middle English passage, which resulted in a few mistakes.